The Ceterian Wall Chapter 5

It has been an entire day since Pasu has arrived to the new world, and at the current moment, he was currently fast asleep in his bed, snoring silently as he did so. It had been awhile since he had a moment to relax, and the sleep he was getting at the current moment was. .h.i.tting the spot wonderfully. However, it was now morning, so he needed to get up.

With a groan, Pasu sits up, yawning as he did so, before grumbling under his breath about comfy teddy bears, before his eyes widened and he looked to the other side of the bed, seeing Pym fast asleep next to him.

“WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING h.e.l.l?!” He falls out of the bed as Pym yawns slightly, sitting up as she slowly blinks, and looked at him. “THE h.e.l.l ARE YOU DOING IN MY BED?!”

She rubs her eyes adorably as she says in a quiet tone. “I was sleeping…”

“Well yeah, that’s obvious, but why MY bed?!”

She tilts her head. “I wanted you to know I would be here.”

“WHY?!”

“Because, I should be the one you like, not Hynnia.”

“YOU’RE FREAKING ELEVEN!”

She gives a blank expression. “In appearance, not actual age. In reality I’m over 20,000 years old.”

“HOW?! HOW ARE YOU THAT OLD?!”

She is silent now, looking down with a frown.

“...” Pasu sighs as he gets up. “You don’t have to say anymore. Just… I’m not interested in Hynnia, at least not right now. And I’m not interested in you in that way either, only as friends, alright?”

Silence for a long time.

“...At least give me some time to think about it before you decide to use your time for seduction.”

She suddenly has a happy and sweet expression out of nowhere. “Sure thing!”

“...Right…” Pasu rolls his shoulders. “Did you…”

“No, even I’m smart enough to know that doesn’t come so quickly.”

“Oh thank G.o.d…” He sighs as he realizes he was still wearing his t-shirt and boxers. “Mind letting me get dressed?”

She nods and gets up, heading into the bathroom. Once Pasu was dressed, he says out loud. I’m done, go ahead and get dressed while I check in with Wolik and Hynnia.”

“Sure thing!” She comes out as Pasu leaves the room. His armor and weapons were in the sack as he currently wore just the shirt and jeans with the socks and boots. Rubbing his hands, he comes down to the first floor and looks to the bar, and as usual Wolik was at the bar drinking a large tankard of alcohol, while Hynnia sits down at the bar and raises a finger. “Crusty Bread, Ceterian Style.”

The innkeeper nods and goes to get the bread as Pasu sits down next to Wolik. “So, what’s on the schedule today?”

Wolik lifts up a list he had made. “Let’s see… Today’s list starts off with a carriage ride to Jorul, to the south. It’s farther on the outskirts, and as such there’s a lot more ruins, caverns, and dungeons to explore.”

“Dungeons? Really?”

“Well sorry if I want to use that cliche term. They’re not always dungeons, some are just abandoned castles, abandoned towns, and what not. Never know what you’ll find the deeper you go in.”

Hynnia says as she chewed on some bread. “Worst case scenario, we run into some Twilight.”

Pasu tilts his head. “Twilight?”

Wolik facepalms. “Forgot to mention that. Twilight is the great enemy of those before all this appeared, back when the entire land was united under a single flag. The Twilight is a kind of utter darkness, if someone with low will is surrounded by the darkness, they immediately begin to turn into beings known as puppets, dark being with black scales, glowing red eyes, and they are what make the Twilight sble to spread out so well. The deeper you go, the closer you’ll get to what produces the Twilight, known as a Black Heart, an actual, living, beating, black heart that can turn even the most powerful into puppets. But it has a weakness, fire.”

“What about sunlight?”

“Oddly enough they adapted to the sunlight, but fire is the one thing they could never adapt to, hence why they’re still around.”

“Gotcha.” Pasu rubs his chin. “How common is it to run into them?”

“They’re almost too rare to find these days, but to be safe, everyone has to carry around fire supplies just in case when leaving the civilized outskirts and into the unknown territory.”

“I see…” Pasu looks at Hynnia. “What about you? What’s your best advice?”

Hynnia looks at her bread. “Pym has a terrifyingly strong physique despite her small and pet.i.te figure.”

“...I already know that.”

“Oh, it was already obvious? Gotcha.” She returns to her bread.

Pym soon comes down with a happy look as she skips over to the bar and sits down before raising a hand. “Dragon Blood Wine!”

The innkeeper eyes her. “Need to see some ID.”

She pulls out a metallic plate, and taps the center with a finger, causing a holographic keyboard and screen to appear, while another screen appears behind it. She then types in her name, and it sure enough reveals her ID. ‘Pym-Meen, Age: 430,800,760,000.’

Pasu has a slack jaw and wide eyes alongside going pale as the innkeeper slides her the gla.s.s, and pours enough to fill half the gla.s.s. “Only one a day, as per the rules with Dragon Blood Wine.”

“Of course.” She takes a sip of her gla.s.s, then notices the stares. “What?”

Wolik speaks first. “You mean you’re the daughter of Councillor Di-Meen?”

Pasu yells out. “THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE SURPRISED ABOUT?! TAKE A LOOK AT THAT AGE!”

Pym looks to the side. “We’re not related by blood, but I did get the genes during the time Cetera was an actual capital… But they were prototype genes, so I’m not a Ceterian, yet I have the aging process as one given the genes. Thats why I’m still so young in appearance.”

Pasu rubs his head as he stares at her. “Dear G.o.d… You’re older than earth!”

“How do you know I am? I’m sure your planet is older than me.” She says bluntly as she sips her wine.

Hynnia rubs her chin. “Have you gone to one of their meetings before?”

“I have. It was a long time ago though…”

“Mind telling us?” Wolik asks.

“I suppose… But it’s nothing special…”

“Was it during the time the First Emperor was around?”

“He used to come and go, but after the Great War, and the crossroads being born, he ceased to ever come back.”

“So he’s still alive?” Hynnia asks.

“Most definitely, the man is a legend. It’s like asking if G.o.d is still a thing.”

“Fair point…” Hynnia mutters.

“Now, about the farthest meeting I can remember… Hmm… That would be back during a time where a lot of realities were part of their empire, so there would be people from all known factions there, such as the Brotherhood of Steel, the UNSC, the Terran Starship Command, even the Seraph of the End…”

Pasu stands up as he slams his hands on the counter. “You mean they were actually here?! Where are they now?!”

“Long dead. They weren’t the actual people you saw in the movies and shows, much like an alternate reality, where even if the name or appearance was similar, they weren’t like their former selves.”

Pasu thinks on this. “So… Claire Harvey would-”

“No, people as important as her had no need to visit the meetings, only those they deem worth sending. The only important figure of all time was the Emperor himself.”

Hynnia leans in. “Well, come on, tell us about it!”

Pym sighs heavily. “Alright, fine, I’ll tell you… Now… It all started back in my adoptive father’s bedchamber…”

...Flashback…

Pym sat there with her father, reading a very large magical tome as her father was currently adjusting his tie. Di-Meen glances back at her as he asks. “How are you doing with that tome, sweetheart?”

She looks at him with a smile. “Great! I already learned the levitation and fireball spells!” She then frowns. “Wish I could keep it…”

“Why wish when you can?” He asks with a slight grin.

“Really?!” She squealed out.

“Yes, Pym, really.”

Pym immediately comes over and hugs her father with a giggle. “Thanks, dad!”

“No problem, hun.” He ruffles up her hair, before the back of his hand rung. “Ah d.a.m.n…” He raises his hand and swipes his two fingers across in front of the back of his hand, causing a holographic screen to appear as he had a notification that there was a meeting called. “I see… Want to go and see the others, Pym?”

Pym bounces as she nods. “Yes please!”

Di-Meen nods as he leads her to a nearby device resembling a circle of lights and tech, before stepping into it with her, and waves his hand, causing a holographic screen to appear. He types in ‘Councillor Meeting Chambers’, and like that they dematerialize, and rematerialize in the meeting chamber, where everyone else except the emperor were already seated. And as per usual, the leader of the once NCR, which was now the New Ceterian Army, or NCA, was currently arguing with the leader of the New American Enclave.

“d.a.m.n it you b.a.s.t.a.r.d, we need those supplies to keep our soldiers fed!” The NCA Councillor shouted.

“And I’m telling you the supplies are being used to supply our colonies out there!” The old man in a black uniform shouts back.

“But we’re the ones defending them!”

“And you think it would be better to defend dead settlers?!”

“Of course not! But those supplies are crucial to our e-”

“Emperor in the room!” Di-Meen shouted as he stood up and bowed to the man who had entered. Everyone else bows in turn.

The man, who wore the emperor uniform, sighs heavily as he adjusts the crown that rested on his messy black hair with a patch of red in it. He glances at Di-Meen with his golden tech-eyes, and says calmly. “That really wasn’t necessary, Di.”

Di-Meen gives a sheepish shrug. “I suppose not, but it ceased the needless arguing.” He bows his head after standing. “I see you’re beard is still your pride and joy.”

The emperor chuckles as he rubs his face, his fingers brushing across the scar over his left eye. “I suppose so.” He glances at the two who were arguing. “Still arguing even after all these years I was away, huh?”

The two old men grunt in annoyance.

“Anyways…” The Emperor glances to the side and notices Pym. “Oh? Who’s the new addition to the palace, Di?”

“This is my daughter, Pym, I adopted her not long ago.”

“Does she have a last name?”

“She does.”

“Then why not call her by it?”

“It’d be best not to.”

“Why?” Di gives him a look. “Ah, I see…” The Emperor gives her a very soft and kind smile. “You be a good girl, alright?”

Pym tilts her head, but nods.

The Emperor then turns to everyone. “Now, shall we begin?”

...Back to the Main World…

Pym is stopped from her story when Wolik spoke. “Why do I get the feeling you’re more royal than even you know…”

Pym raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Pasu groans. “It’s obvious, you’re last name is Mason! You’re the First Emperor’s daughter!”

Pym has a very blank expression. “While I have humored that thought, it would be very impossible. I would appear as a 20 year old if that was true.”

“How do you know? You can’t remember past the day the Councillor adopted you, right?”

“Well, that is true, but…” She shakes her head. “No, come on, Me? The next Empress? That’s too cliche…”

Hynnia leans back. “And I’m the daughter of a mayor, but you don’t see me shoving that possibility away as impossible.”

Pym grunts. “That’s different, obviously.”

“I suppose so…” Pasu rubs his chin. “Well, how about that carriage ride?”

Wolik quickly nods. “Right! I almost forgot!”

...To Be Continued...